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Socialism

SOCIALISM Hoffman and Graham emphasize the

diversity of socialist thought. They ask: Can socialism be defined? Is it an impossible dream? Do more “realistic” forms of socialism sacrifice their very socialism when they become more pragmatic? And do the diverse kinds of socialism have anything in common?

SOCIALISM They also point out the difference

between what they call “social democracy” or “democratic socialism” and “Marxism” or “scientific socialism.” What are the differences?

Social Democracy / Democratic Socialism

Moderate classes Utilize the state Parliament (Congress) Ethically desirable Nation as a whole

Marxism / Scientific Socialism Eliminate classes Go beyond the state Worker’s councils Historically inevitable Workers and their

allies

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The distinction between Marxism and social democracy is the major fault line among socialisms

In defining socialism, the authors note that all socialists share these common features…

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a) An optimistic view of human nature – it is changeable and not a barrier to social regulation or ownership.

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b) A stress on cooperation – competition exists, but is not the guiding principle.

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c) A positive view of freedom –

Freedom to, not

just freedom from (a material basis of freedom)

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SOCIALISM d) Support for equality –

A basic value in any imaginable or feasible socialist society

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The problem of Utopia

SOCIALISM All socialists are vulnerable to the charge of utopianism – trying to realize a society that is contrary to human experience and historical development

Socialists disagree as to whether utopianism is a good or bad thing.

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SOCIALISM While some socialists see Utopia as a

good thing, liberals and conservatives regard the notion of Utopia as negative – an irresponsible idealism that is contrary to reality, leading to regimes of a highly oppressive and totalitarian kind.

(Marx and Engels supported “scientific socialism” and rejected what they called “utopian socialism”)

Marx and Marxism

The belief that

socialism should be scientific and not utopian (highly contentious)

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Marx and Engels preferred the term “communism” (a working class movement from below) to “socialism” (a respectable movement initiated from above)

SOCIALISM Why is

Marxism seen as “scientific”?

Because it is a

broad theory which encompasses…

A Theory of Class Conflict

Class-divided

societies have incompatible social interests that lead to exploitation…

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A Theory of Revolutions

This

incompatibility can only be resolved through revolution…

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In contrast, Utopians seek peaceful and sometimes piecemeal change, appealing to all classes in society for support, and seeing the state as part of the solution rather than part of the problem

A Theory of History

Which contrasts

the forces of production with the relations of production

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These two elements form a basis upon which arises a “superstructure” that incorporates political institutions, educational systems, culture and ideas

A Theory of Society

The self-destructive

nature of capitalism which creates the working class (capitalism’s “gravediggers”?)

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Utopians see socialism as “desirable,” not inevitable

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The Authoritarian Consequences of

“Scientific Socialism” (…that is, according to Hoffman and Graham)

a) The Argument of Inevitability (the major problem)

Revolutions: 1. Bourgeois vs.

proletarian 2. “Pre-mature”

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SOCIALISM Hunter-Gatherer Agricultural Feudalism Capitalism ???????????????

SOCIALISM b) Class War and the Problem of Morality A “scientific” attitude ought to be tolerant and empirical, but in Marxism, the notion of a vanguard leading a revolutionary process that is both inevitable and historically necessary, leads to an authoritarian version of socialism whose state and political institutions are illiberal, and refuse to “wither away.”

SOCIALISM The Dilemma of Democratic

Socialism

Social democracy sees itself as everything that Marxism is not: democratic, reformist, realistic, open-mined, and concerned with making a moral case for socialism.

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How is this different from liberalism or even more flexible forms of conservatism?

SOCIALISM Degenerate forms of rule: Benevolent autocracy tyranny Aristocracy oligarchy Democracy mob rule Social Democracy “electoralism” (a

concern to win elections without worrying about principles at all)

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Socialism and the USA

Factors to examine when asking why socialism has never taken root here.

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Early American republic did not have the same class structure as England and the continent.

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SOCIALISM A social ethos that prioritized

individualism over collectivism

Emancipatory movements (especially trade unions), that championed the rights of individual men over an oppressed class.

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SOCIALISM Roosevelt’s New Deal, although seen by its enemies as “socialist” in character, embraced a social or new liberalism that never really challenged the capitalist nature of the economy.

SOCIALISM Can Marxism be Rescued? This is an interesting question. The

authors do not say by whom it should be rescued, and for what ultimate purpose (should radicals who want to begin the revolution, rescue it from liberals who want to tame it?).

SOCIALISM The authors suggest that the problem with

Marxism is that it embraces elements that make it impossible for the state to “wither away” – meaning that it must lead to authoritarianism.

SOCIALISM Engels suggested revolutions are authoritarian events, and they create a new state that clearly distinguishes between revolution and counter-revolution, and this leads to the kind of insecurity and division that generates despotism rather than democracy. Was he right?

Class and Agency

Are there factors

other than class (gender, race, national identity, sexual orientation) that are crucial to understand?

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Intersectionality?

Socialism and Inevitability

Is socialism only “conditionally” inevitable as the authors suggest?

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In other words, couldn’t the US go right, towards fascism, under certain circumstances?

SOCIALISM Determinism and Free Will Classical liberalism argues for a notion of freedom

independent of circumstances and relationships, and since they [socialists] are critical of liberalism they might be tempted to take the view that since circumstances determine the way people are, they do not have freedom or willpower.

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Socialism: A Summary from

Hoffman and Graham

Socialism is a broad church, but underlying its numerous forms is a concern with cooperation and equality….

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SOCIALISM …and a belief that human nature can

change and that freedom requires an adequate provision of resources.

Socialism is prone to the problem of utopianism because it seeks to establish a society that differs from the world of the present.

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SOCIALISM Marxism is a variant of socialism that leads to authoritarianism insofar as it emphasizes an unconditional inevitability, has a particular notion of revolution, and is disdainful of moral judgement.

SOCIALISM Marxism can only be rescued from the

problem of authoritarianism if it rejects the notion of revolution as a single political event, and adopts a broader view of class and a conditional notion of inevitability.

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